Tuesday, July 31, 2018

The Halifax Urban Folk Festival (HUFF) has a bunch of great things
going for it, from the intimate listener venues to the always-stellar
lineup. It's the kind of event where you feel like you've seen something
special, rather than another night on the road for the performers. Part
of that is the wise move put in place to attract artists that might not
get to the region any other way. Instead of booking a performer and
their full group, they go after singer-songwriters who are willing to
play with (very, very good) local players, vets who can do their music
justice. Then they are booked over three nights, one night as headliner
and the other two as part of a songwriter's circle. This keeps hotel and
travel costs down for the festival, and the artist is promised a
working vacation, getting to enjoy the famous Maritime hospitality. In
other words, stuff them full of lobster until they're happy.

This
year's surprise choice (there's always at least one that you'd never
think of beforehand) is Nashville's Lilly Hiatt. The up-and-coming
singer-songwriter comes by it honestly, the daughter of the revered
writer John Hiatt, but that of course only goes so far. She's clutching
no-one's coattails, already an accomplished and passionate writer and
performer. Her latest album, Trinity Lane, is a rowdy, rocking, emotionally charged
release, full of fresh writing. There's a bit of twang to her sound but
it's more roots-rock than country-folk, and her F-bombs will ensure
there's no Opry invitation anytime soon.

Things
are pretty intense when you delve into Hiatt's lyrics, with lots of
lines about being on the edge emotionally, trying to get it together.
She admits, "I just wanna rock 'n' roll/scream out my lungs and burn
real slow." There are lots of old relationships hanging around, like the
one in The Night David Bowie Died, where the singer wants to call a
recent ex, but sits alone and cries, blaming herself for the split. No
matter how much biography is in the songs, a key line seems to be "I'll
take lonely if it means free." There's a whole lot of fire in the songs,
and a bunch of life experience and survival wrapped up in that one
line.

Lilly Hiatt will be at the Carleton in
Halifax for HUFF Friday, Aug 31, Saturday, Sept. 1 and Sunday, Sept. 2,
in the songwriter's circle the first two nights, and headlining the
Sunday. Tickets and schedule info for all the shows and venues can be
found at www.halifaxurbanfolkfestival.com.

Monday, July 30, 2018

Quick, when did the British Invasion begin? You know, when The
Beatles took over North American hearts and minds, starting a year of
insanity that changed music and popular culture forever. The Ed Sullivan
Show, right? When everybody tuned in? Well guess what. That was Feb. 9,
1964, and The Beatles were old news by that time in Canada. This
country had been going wild for the Fab Four since December, and it had
been building for a year already, way before those slowpokes in the U.S.
had paid any attention.

That story has been
completely told in the meticulous, essential The Beatles In Canada: The
Origins of Beatlemania! by Toronto author and music historian Piers
Hemmingsen. A life-long Beatles fan, Hemmingsen had a unique view of the
group's rise, living in England in the early '60's as the group broke
in that country, and then moving in Canada just prior to their
ascendance here. A lifetime of research has led to a series of books on
The Beatles in Canada, including the most exhaustive discography of
their releases in this country. It all came together with this huge,
hard-cover coffee table book released first in 2016, jammed with photos,
historic articles, first-time interviews and truly the whole story.

If
you don't know, The Beatles first broke in England in late 1962, and
over 1963 Beatlemania raged in England, as well as parts of continental
Europe and Scandinavia. The group's label in the U.S., Capitol Records,
was not interested at first, and didn't bother to release any of the
group's music. But in Canada, a wise Capitol exec named Paul White,
whose job it was to choose which U.K. artists to release here, took an
interest. At first, not much happened, with debut single Love Me Do
selling under a 100 copies. But White was determined, and over the year,
four singles and a Canadian-only album release, White convinced radio,
and radio convinced Canada. Hemmingsen follows the path, and documents
each piece of that journey. So when The Beatles showed up in New York to
appear on Sullivan, they were already stars back in Canada. No wonder
Paul White was one of the few people allowed into the group's inner
circle during that visit. And as Hemmingsen tells us, as fans lined up for their Carnegie Hall appearance, The Beatles were studying their chart numbers from Saint John, N.B., in their Plaza Hotel suite.

It's
all a fantastic story that shows Canada's crucial role in launching the
group world-wide, and a must for Beatles fans. The book has just been
released again, this time as an eBook via Amazon, or a special edition
by Apple iBooks. That's an exclusive enhanced edition that includes
audio clips embedded in the book with interviews, rare radio recordings
and info from the author. Especially interesting is hearing the story
from Paul White, who sadly passed away earlier this year. Just fire up
the iTunes and grab a couple of your old Beatles albums to listen to as
well.

The book features a red colour scheme,
and is known as the Red book, in keeping with those famous Beatles hits
albums from the '70's, the Red and Blue albums. That's because
Hemmingsen is well on the way to completing the second volume, which
will cover The Beatles in Canada the rest of the way, until their
break-up in 1970. So get caught up quick with the new eBook or iBook
version.

Sunday, July 29, 2018

A third release for singer-songwriter Coupland, a rising folk
favourite in the Toronto scene. This is a five-track EP highlighting her
emotionally charged writing, heartbreak with an edge, and a beat too.
This One's For The Road is a break-up song with defiance in its tempo,
hitting the road with a groove going on. She's also got a knack for
spotting the problem and saying it clearly: "You're always asking
questions, searching for holes in my words, you don't trust me." Nobody
likes that feeling,and kudos to her for putting it so plainly. I find
her writing highly effective.

First single
Bound For Love showcases her guitar style and gives her an opportunity
to let her vocals soar, an optimistic song for those who believe that
love will prevail. Love In Your Eyes is filled with tender beauty, a
special moment and some poignant pedal steel by guest Fats Kaplin (John
Prine, Jack White). It's another fine example of smart writing. We don't
get a long lead-up, or the ending, just the important moment where a
romance could happen, might not, a song pared down to the emotional
drama. Definitely looking for a full album soon.

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Here's the latest in the on-going From The Vault series, which has
seen a bunch of live Stones shows from several different tours made
available. You get the whole show, on two discs audio and one disc
video, then you get to compare 76 different versions of Brown Sugar from
over the years, and the increasingly leathery texture of Keith's skin.

I
mock, only because I love. But it was quite the conglomerate they had
going at this point. They put out an album in 1997, Bridges To Babylon,
then did a year-long mega-tour in support of it, then released a live
album from the tour (No Security), then did a six-month tour in 1999 in
support of the live album. That's when this San Jose show happened,
during the No Security tour supporting the live album (whew!), if you
follow all that. Anyway, the good thing about the second tour was that
they stripped things down a bit, moving from stadiums to arenas under
20,000, scaled down the sets and costumes, and concentrated more on the
music than the showbiz. Even Jagger chose t-shirts for the most part.

Even
so, the band always ends up playing mostly huge songs, afraid of
disappointing the general audience, so as usual, it's late '60's to late
'70's favourites, including Jumpin' Jack Flash, Honky Tonk Women,
Tumbling Dice, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll, Start Me Up, Sympathy For The
Devil and, you guessed it, Brown Sugar. There's the obligatory recent
cuts, in this case Saint Of Me and Out Of Control from Bridges, neither
memorable hits but the latter is a good concert number. You Got Me
Rocking, a very good song from the underrated Voodoo Lounge album has by
this time made its way into the regular lineup, and it is probably the
best later Stones song from the post-1989 period, so always welcome. The
biggest surprise of this tour, and one that makes for the best footage,
is when the group moves to the second, smaller stage, just the core
four members plus bassist Darryl Jones and keyboard player Chuck
Leavell, doing a mini-set of blues versions of their old fave cover
Route 66, Get Off Of My Cloud and Midnight Rambler. When Jagger lets
lose on harp on the latter tune, the old spirit comes right back, the
vastness of their empire falls away, and we're left with a brief but
shining reminder of the real magic, so impossible to capture on the
giant stage. Ah, but then it's back to the business of being The World's
Greatest Rock'n'Roll Band. Cue Tumbling Dice.

Friday, July 27, 2018

It's hard to get too excited about another Davies solo album,
particularly a Part 2, when he's out fanning the flames for a Kinks
reunion yet again. This isn't the first time it's supposedly been
happening, but there did seem to be a little more substance behind it,
confirmations of phone calls and interest from all three surviving
members, if they can stomach being in a room together. Or, it all could
have been Davies drumming up headlines to bring attention to his latest
solo album. He's always been a bit of an actor.

And
a wannabe playwright too. He's been writing concept albums since the
late '60's, often with large autobiographical content, or at least based
on his family experiences. He's awfully nostalgic too, and was so back
then too, writing about his sisters and his childhood and his London
home. Then came his fascination with America, and his Muswell
Hillbillies concept (having his Muswell Hill neighbourhood taken over by
U.S. hillbilly culture). That behemoth of a country has loomed ever
larger in his life, as his band effectively moved there in the '70's and
became arena rock stars, and then from the '90's on, Davies lived
there, got shot there, and got completely obsessed.

That's
culminated in Americana Act I and now II, where he describes to us his
journey, looking for the source of the music and culture that inspired
him as a kid, hitting the long road through middle America as a rock
star, and finding himself at the end of the search. On paper, it seems
like it might be a winner, especially since once again he's engaged The
Jayhawks as his backing band. Trouble is, the story keeps getting in the
way of the songs. From the spoken word segments to the conceptualized
lyrics, somewhere all the fun got squeezed out. There's no memorable
hooks or choruses. The most interesting is a song about a run-in with a
groupie in Minneapolis who has the best of him, although he blatantly
makes the song sound like a classic Pretenders cut. This is where I
remind you that Davies and Chrissie Hynde had a relationship, and
Indianapolis, her hometown, sounds a lot like Minneapolis. It's a rare
energetic track for the record, but it also seems like a cheap shot too.

The
story ends with Davies leaving New Orleans after being shot, wiser and a
winner really, because he found his music source, paid his dues and
survived. He returns to the Muswell Hillbillies theme with the closer
Muswell Kills, describing how he'd avenge himself if he ran into that
shooter again. Like most of the Davies concept albums, including
Preservation Acts 1 and 2, Schoolboys In Disgrace and Lola Versus
Powerman and the Moneygoround Part One (there was no part two,
thankfully), this is a story that is just not that entertaining to
follow, and doesn't have much to offer as individual songs, either. If
getting The Kinks back together will mean he returns to some basic rock
writing to let brother Dave bash away on guitar and Mick Avory do the
same on drums, now that will get me excited.

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

On the surface, this looks like a basic, though strong, '60's soul
collection, featuring familiar names Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett,
Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin. And it is a solid set, with many
well-known hits and a few surprises to attract fans. But there's also a
cool back story.

Originally this was an album
released in North America and England in 1968, but the U.K. version was
drastically different, featuring an almost completely different track
listing. It featured songs that were bigger hits there. It also proved
quite influential, rising to #16 on their album charts. A favourite
compilation, it's now been reissued for the first time, and greatly
expanded, from the original 12 tracks, to 29 total, almost 80 minutes
long.

The original mix was pretty cool, kicking
off with Pickett's Mustang Sally, sliding into Carla Thomas's B.A.B.Y..
and then gearing into party mode with Arthur Conley's Sweet Soul Music.
After Percy Sledge's immortal When A Man Loves A Woman, the cuts get
lesser known, with Sam and Dave's I Got Everything I Need and Ben E.
King's title track probably not recognizable by the average listener,
but still top-drawer. The rest of the original 12 are bigger hits,
including Redding's singalong Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song) and Eddie
Floyd's Knock On Wood.

In case it wasn't
obvious, these are all songs from the Atlantic Records label who had the
cream of the crop of soul in those days, from its own roster and its
distribution deal with Stax. The 17 bonus cuts here are taken from that
same Atlantic stable of those years, with some repeats from Sam &
Dave and Otis and Pickett, but also some period classics and a few very
welcome one hit wonders as well. For those of you who thought Some Kind
Of Wonderful was a Grand Funk original, the first version, by Soul
Brothers Six, should make for a pleasant surprise. The Mad Lads rarely
make compilations, but their Get Out Of My Life is a fine example of
group vocals of the day. Barbara Lynn needs to be better known for sure.
Even some of the name artists get some exposure for their deeper cuts,
including Eddie Floyd's excellent Big Bird (an airplane, not the Sesame
Street character). Yes, you get Dock Of The Bay and Hold On I'm Coming
for the umpteenth time, but the overall mix presents one of the best
soul collections out there, with enough surprises to ensure that almost
every buyer will get lots of tracks they don't already own.

Friday, July 20, 2018

This is some mighty mandolinin', from Canada's eight-string king.
Happy both singing and playing, Collins gives us the best of both worlds
over these two sets, one all vocals and the other instrumentals. Like
all good bluegrass players, he has a sense of humour in his choices, as
well as a sense of adventure. On the instrumental side, that sees him
rework Pink Floyd's Goodbye Blue Sky, while on the vocals disc (the
Tongue one, of course), he has a go at everyone from Nick Drake to Roger
Miller to The Hollies. A relaxed singer with that rustic quality to his
vocals, he turns both Just A Gigolo and King Midas In Reverse into
numbers that sound like folk wisdom.

When
it comes to the pure playing on Groove, the whole trio shines, and shows
off some multi-instrumental skills as well. Collins moves from mandolin
to mandocello to violin. Mike Mezzatesta handles guitar, mandolin, and
violin, and James McEleney covers bass and bowed acoustic double-bass,
depending on the needs. This lets them jam in imaginative combos such as
dueling mandolins on David Grisman's classic Dawg Grass, twin fiddles
on Collins' own Kentakaya Waltz, and several jazz/bluegrass numbers
featuring fast tempos or old-time fun. There's tremendous interplay
among the trio as they come up with twists and turns, always in glorious
harmony. As much as I love the story-telling on Tongue, my jaw dropped
over Groove.

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Baby-hating, foul-mouthed liquor pigs, mired in debt and often in
jail, even their mothers have denounced The Galpines. Well, not their
real mothers I'm sure, and New Brunswick festival-goers and party
animals have taken these four Moncton women to their hearts. The comedy
country outfit sends up our redneck ways, from online shopping addiction
(Visa Bill Blues) to living via Instagram (Hashtag Blessed). And
sometimes, it's just for the shock value ("My dog is better than your
baby.")

Fans will know many of the songs on the
group's second release and first long-player, as they've been playing
them to great reaction for months, and pretty much every song they write
is instantly memorable. Go To Sleep has served as a lovely opening
number, with those old-timey harmonies, like something that could have
been on the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack. Except that movie
didn't feature some drug-and-booze addled festival goers trying to have a
three-way but the baby wakes up and ruins everything.

If
you shock easily, you don't want to go here, but if you have a sense of
humour about four-letter words and questionable morals, and like comedy
with your harmonies, The Galpines are absolutely entertaining. Plus,
they don't like litterbugs, so there's a good lesson in here. One at
least.

The group is launching the album
this Saturday, July 21, at the Parkindale Hall in Elgin, N.B., and are promising surprise musical guests, so I'm sure it's going to be a party. Then the band is continuing a busy summer of tour dates, including (gasp!) their first shows in Ontario and Quebec, including one at the Dakota in Toronto
Aug. 31. That oughta show them stuck-up Upper Canadians.

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Formerly of the Nova Scotia group Drift a few years back, Jennifer
Irving did drift away for a bit, into a photography career, kids, a move
to Saint John and other adulting. Music was just on the back burner
though, and now she returns with a debut solo EP, four cuts from three
different sessions. It's an interesting variety from the
singer-songwriter, thoughtful lyrics across the board but some dramatic
style shifts.

The first two cuts, Weight and
Well Enough, were made with Halifax producer Daniel Ledwell, and feature
his well-known layers and textures. Irving adds to that a level of
mystery, and intriguingly, a Spaghetti Western flavour. The third cut,
Lines, was done with Charles Austin, another Halifax mainstay. While
still featuring a rich sound, that track highlights the acoustic guitar
sound of Irving's music, along with a bit of atmosphere. The final cut,
Someday, is less spacious, Irving's vocals echoed and less prominent,
brushed percussion joining the acoustic guitar along with a few bells
and a haunted vibe. Toronto producer Snappy Homefry is the collaborator
on this bit of electronic folk.

Irving proves a
bit of a chameleon on the EP, adapting her voice to each atmosphere. On
the mystery movie cuts at the start, she's moody and distant, while the
acoustic tracks feel more warm and transparent. In each song though,
her singing is compelling, and I like that she has these different
sides.

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

My biggest complaint about modern blues artists is that a lot of
the run-of-the-mill ones put such little effort into their lyrics. You
know the ones, singing about being done wrong by their baby, or waiting
for the weekend to let loose. Then comes the guitar solo. Ones who work
hard on their lyrics stand out, and Al Basile is certainly one of the
best. No surprise, since his other career is as a well-respected poet.
While those two aspects always meet in his music, his new album is
something special, a true combination of poetry and the blues.

The
album is made up of spoken word pieces before each song. Some are part
of a narrative, while others are true poems. The story is about a
fictional musician, who has a stroke of blues luck. In drastic need of
inspiration to help him write songs, but not being good at words, he
deserves an old trunk filled with writings, author unknown. The journals
are easily adapted into lyrics, and they help his band become stars. We
here about how that all goes down, how the musician notices the lyrics
mirror his own life, and how, in true blues fashion, fame and fortune
doesn't mean happiness. His band mates and friends turn out to be not so
trustworthy, his marriage fails, but life's ups and downs bring his
strength.

The songs relate to the
narrative, and were made to follow the arc of the story. They were
recorded with the musicians knowing the spoken section each was
following. Produced by the redoubtable Duke Robillard, the mood is right
for each one, and it's one of the most engrossing listens I've enjoyed.
Basile, already a strong performer, is an equally captivating narrator.
His plan almost backfires, as the stories are so engrossing I found
myself waiting for the songs to end to hear the next bit of reading.
That was just the first listen though, and the music proves strong as
well, giving me renewed appreciation for his lyrical abilities. I can't
think of a similar blues/story album before, and it's certainly a
fascinating listening experience, half-audio book, half-cruising music.

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Here's a pleasant-plus surprise. Veteran jazz sax and flute player
Lloyd fronts a group of consummate players, including guitar maestro
Bill Frisell and pedal steel and dobro giant Greg Leisz. They also play
with Lucinda Williams, and Lloyd and Williams met and developed a mutual
admiration. First she asked him to guest at a show, then he asked her,
and then this collaboration was born. Lloyd and the Marves do five jazz
instrumentals, and Williams takes the lead vocals on the other five
songs. Four of them are her compositions, three older ones, one
brand-new, and the last a cover of the Hendrix classic Angel.

Jazz
fans will find lots to enjoy, as the genre-bending Lloyd has quite a
team in the Marvels. The rhythm section is made up of Lloyd's longtime
team of Reuben Rogers on bass and drummer Eric Harland. Frisell and
Leisz help Lloyd veer off in every direction, from blues to country to
free-form squonking. It's adventurous, mostly melodic, and fun, hearing
players who can work in so many styles.

For
Lucinda fans, it's a revelation. Here she stretches past her usual roots
style, and adds a whole new level to her vocal style, with extra notes
and nuances. On her own robust albums, there isn't a whole lot of room
for such vocal subtlety, but here there's more pacing and less volume,
allowing her to shine. She clearly enjoys the changes made to her
material by this group. She's also chosen songs that are from her more
poetic side, and that brings extra strength to the verses. Match that
with the exceptional performances from Lloyd and the group, and it will
lead the listener to a whole new appreciation of Williams.

Monday, July 9, 2018

Come on, we all know it ... Everybody have fun tonight, everybody
Wang Chung tonight. There. Don't you feel better getting that out of the
way? Darn catchy though, and a pretty brilliant move, putting the band
name in the hook of the song. We'll never, ever forget it.

The
bigger question is whether there's anything else to remember. And you
know, they actually aren't a one-hit wonder. If you'll remember, Dance
Hall Days was a pretty decent-sized hit, a couple of years before
Everybody Have Fun Tonight. And the follow-up to that monster, Let's
Go!, was also hit the Top 10, and it's a quite good track. Then there
was the soundtrack to the film To Live and Die in L.A., which produced a
decent title cut. So there's a few things there, and if you skip over
the ubiquitous you-know-what, this isn't a bad listen, even with that
glossy 80's production. A version of the group still tours the oldies
circuit, with pals Cutting Crew. Oh by the way, Wang Chung is the
Chinese phrase for yellow bell, the first note in their classical music
scale. Which makes no sense, "everybody yellow bell tonight." Go figure.

Saturday, July 7, 2018

The Halifax Jazz Festival gets underway this coming week, has a
stellar lineup, and opening night features a fantastic free show. It's
starring none other than Canada's premiere jazz-soul singer, Molly
Johnson. And wouldn't you know, she's got a killer new album out too.

It's
produced by none other than Larry Klein, who has managed to do a decent
job in the same role for Joni Mitchell, Tracy Chapman and Norah Jones
over the years. He knows how to showcase the finest female singers, and
that's just what you want with Johnson. She has one of those voices, the
kind that you want to enjoy every syllable she sings, the last faded
"sss..." on the end of a line. This is a particularly punchy, upbeat set
for her, mostly originals, and some well-chosen covers. There aren't
too many singers who can bring out the groove in Leonard Cohen's Boogie
Street, and make a classy version of Marvin Gaye's Inner City Blues as
well.

Her previous release was her tribute
to Billie Holiday, Because Of Billie, so Johnson had a bunch of her own
songs saved up for this one. Gone has a big groove, almost a rocker,
while Stop, written with Klein and David Baerwald (David & David) is
a jazzy modern ballad, with an emotional lead from Johnson at her
smokiest.

See Molly Johnson at the free
show Tuesday, July 10 at the Waterfront Stage at 8:30 pm, along with the
Halifax All-Star Jazz Revue. That features the city's top players,
including drummer Dave Burton, Jamie Gatti on bass, Geordie Haley on
guitar, keyboard player Sylvio Pupo and Chris Mitchell on sax. There are
plenty of other tempting shows throughout the week as well, including
sets from Chaka Khan, The War On Drugs, Alvvays, Matt Andersen and the
Mellotones, Whitehorse, Daniel Caesar, Charlotte Day Wilson and lots
more.

Friday, July 6, 2018

I like this format quite a bit. Disc one is a basic best-of, all
the hits written by Nash for CSN, Crosby-Nash, and his solo albums,
while disc two is all demos, most of them previously unreleased. Some of
the demos are those favourite hit tracks, while others are lesser-known
but really charming stripped down. It's two very different ways of
going through Nash's career, both of them worthy.

You
can argue who was the better writer in CSN until the cows come home,
but certainly Nash was the best commercial writer. His melodies were
always catchy and his lyrics easily digested. Those delightful ditties,
such as Marrakesh Express, Our House and Teach Your Children, were the
singalong favourites that cleared the way for Crosby's hippie trips and
Stills' guitar workouts. And he pretty much saved the band by writing
the hits Just A Song Before I Go and Wasted On The Way, which propped up
middling efforts later in the group's career. When pushed, he could get
angry too, and Chicago, Immigration Man and Military Madness gave him
an another dimension rather than just being a softy. No question though,
of his colleagues (not including Young), he has been most consistent
and deserving of a hits collection. It also allows folks unfamiliar with
his solo or duo efforts to hear fine songs such as I Used To Be King.

The
demos collection is more exciting, since it's almost all new, and quite
interesting. We hear him putting down solo versions of Marrakesh
Express and Horses Through A Rainstorm back in London, the former
famously rejected by The Hollies, a final straw for Nash as he quit the
band and fled to L.A. Horses was supposed to be a CSN track, and was
first heard on that group's '90's box set, fully recorded, but here we
get the acoustic treatment. Marrakesh is obviously a quality number even
in its raw state, but the CSN treatment was magic. Teach Your Children
was pretty bare-boned as a demo, again one that came alive with the
band. Nash moved to piano writing shortly after that, and his demos
became more vibrant at that point, more melodic. Simple Man is gorgeous,
and could have been released just like that. Wind On The Water, a
little bit more advanced of a demo, with piano and guitar, is a clear
blueprint for that solid Crosby/Nash cut. Just A Song Before I Go, with
piano and harmonica and none of the layered harmonies, is more haunting.
And Wasted On The Way is far less jaunty, which makes this easily the
better version. This set could have been another ho-hum best-of, but
instead is really a must-own for CSN and Nash fans.

Thursday, July 5, 2018

I submit, for your consideration, the next hero for the Marvel Universe. Real name: Ken
Kawashima, born to a Japanese
father and a Korean mother, who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1960's.
Raised in Bowling Green, then moved to Chicago. Day job:
Associate Professor of East Asian
Studies at the University of Toronto. Avengers name: Sugar Brown.
Nighttime job: Blues superhero. While going through his studies in
Chicago, Kawashima became immersed in the famous blues scene, and began a
tutelage under some of the local legends with names such as
Taildragger, Rockin' Johnny and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith. He walked away
from it all to get that Ph.D., but after establishing himself in the
rarefied air of Upper Canadian academia, found himself unable to resist
the call of the wild. In 2014, he reclaimed the Sugar Brown name, and
now has issued his third LP, all of them stellar.

Brown
has that gritty, real sound that every blues player wishes they could
get, but seldom can. It's authentic, and authoritative too. Seems our
scholar was studying up on a few subjects in Chicago, as he deftly moves
from style to style, including the good-time jump blues of Dew On The
Grass, the acoustic country blues of Brothers to the low-down, hard
times cut Lousy Dime. He's aided by some superior players, including
Toronto roots guitarist Nichol Robertson, stalwart drummer Michelle
Josef, classy piano man Julian Fauth, and even his old Chicago mentor,
Rockin' Johnny Burgin on guitar. Brown's a deft writer, able to hit
classic themes, and is doing all original material, fresh and
articulate, but still sounding like all those classic influences.

The
final piece of the puzzle comes in the overall sound, captured on
two-track analog tape, and vocals recorded using a vintage 1930's
microphone pre-amp. It adds that special bit of low-fi, and makes it
easy to compare Sugar Brown to the greats. He's definitely got the
stuff. Somebody call Stan Lee.

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Now here's some Canadiana. Folks from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick,
Ontario, Alberta and B.C. end up living in Montreal and making a country
album. Well, alt-country, or in other words, old school country with
folk melodies and thoughtful lyrics, and in this case, a beautiful sound
and haunting vocals and harmonies. The six-member group came together
from Friday night kitchen singalongs. There are three singer-writers;
Katie Moore, Michelle Tompkins and Angela Desveaux, and players Joe
Grass (dobro, pedal steel), Mike O'Brien (guitar) and Andrew Horton
(bass). All are experienced performers in various Montreal groups, and
this is their first release under the El Coyote banner.

Each
of the singers has a true, classic roots voice, natural and easy to
enjoy. The harmonies are gorgeous, soothing even, so comfortable do they
blend. Mostly these are country ballads, with 19th century folk
touches, and even some Western influences. But there's still that little
alt- edge, so it's never a homage to old timey sounds. The best I've
come up with as a description is Cowboy Junkies visiting the McGarrigle
family for a parlour session. The language is certainly older rather
than modern; they sing of time and tide, and a false-hearted lover. But
even cuts like Lighten up Diane and the uptempo cut Tip Jar feel more
like they are set in the 1950's than today. Delicate acoustic picking
and Grass's hypnotic pedal steel and dobro dominate the instrument
sounds, while wisely never getting in the way of the voices. I haven't
heard a combo like this since the Trio recordings of Emmylou, Linda and
Dolly.

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

There are certain musicians that are crucial members
of a music scene. Their work, not just the art they create, but the
service they do, is what makes a scene vibrant. This is done via
support, camaraderie, influence and leadership. I think I'll call them
"backbone" musicians, for lack of a better term. Denis Parker is
certainly one of them. The blues singer has weathered the changing
scenes of the music industry for 50 years, and is the dean of the scene
in St. John's, NL. He's put out his share of albums, and for almost 20
years was head of the Music Industry Association of NL. He's celebrating
that 50 years with a new album, and a launch party Saturday, July 7.

Interestingly,
his recording career actually began in England, where he's from. Parker
was part of the British blues scene in the '60's, and eventually got
his recording start in, wow, Abbey Road Studio. He even recorded his
debut around the same time as The Beatles were recording their Abbey
Road album. Parker was in a group called Panama Limited Jug Band, the
chief songwriter, and that group's two albums on the hip Harvest label
are hugely collectable this days. But he soon after cross the pond for
Newfoundland, and has served as a player, educator and organizer since.
So hats off to a remarkable career.

Meanwhile,
the new album is just what Parker knows best, acoustic blues, just him,
his guitar, a little accompaniment when called for, and something
special, harmony vocals from his daughter Sarah Parker-Charles on a few
cuts. It's a grab-bag of 19 tracks, recorded intimately, which is the
perfect way to hear Parker. He owns this style, his vocals are
mesmerizing, and the simplicity captivating. You can hear every bit of
that 50 years' experience, on old favourites Trouble In Mind, Kokomo
Blues, Canned Heat, or on his own material in that vein, some of them
numbers he had composed and set aside years back, only to be
rediscovered for this.

Like the best blues
performers, Parker has improved with age. You can join the birthday
bash Saturday at Fred's Music in St. John's with Parker doing a full set
at 5 PM.

Monday, July 2, 2018

A relatively new recruit to the East Coast, Mark Fossen has spent a
decade busking and gigging the country and beyond, playing festivals
and releasing single tracks and videos. Now the B.C. native has landed
in Antigonish, N.S., and has celebrated with his first full-length,
called Restless. Produced by Jim Bryson, who's been quietly doing novel
things for Canadian folk acts, this set has Fossen's emotional and
searching tunes given a whole bunch of cool levels and shifting
soundscapes. Like he's done on P.E.I. singer Meaghan Blanchard's
upcoming release The Great Escape, Bryson has emphasized the mood in
each of Fossen's cuts. It's not with unnecessary noises but rather with
moments of quiet and calm, beautiful tones, mystery, and just the right
bit of volume at the right time.

That leaves
lots of room for Fossen's warm delivery and searching lyrics. Rocky
Mountain Kiss looks back at an old West Coast love, thinking about it at
a vulnerable time, and realizing it wasn't aching for the person, but
missing that feeling of being in love. The cut Sometimes gets into
intense territory, Fossen clearly one able to tap into his feelings,
such as when he has to "..search for you in bottles of wine/when my
heart is beating overtime." Songs with such heart on display could be
mushy, but Fossen and Bryson add lots of power throughout, from gutsy
guitar to some sneaky banjo to subtle strings. Or in Ghost, Fossen adds a
falsetto harmony to a couple of lines, sounding a bit like Robbie
Robertson in Somewhere Down The Crazy River. That's a good vibe, and
this album has lots of that kind of warmth.

About Me

A veteran Canadian broadcaster, Bob Mersereau specializes in popular music writing. He's been with CBC TV and Radio since 1982, and regularly reports on the arts. Bob is the author of the Top 100 Canadian Albums, a national best-seller published in 2007, and The Top 100 Canadian Singles, published in September 2010, both from Goose Lane Editions. His music column appears each week on CBC Radio 1 in New Brunswick, on the program Shift, and he has written music articles and reviews for such publications as The Coast Magazine, The Telegraph Journal, and The Globe and Mail. He's also the recipient of the 2014 Stompin' Tom Award from the East Coast Music Association.